BRIDAL COSTUME.
[Illustration: MARRIAGE PROCESSION OF A BRIDE IN LEBANON.]
Certain curious customs have been associated with the Ordinance of
Marriage from a very early period, and among others may be mentioned the
union of near relations in barbaric or semi-barbaric tribes; the
providing of husbands and wives for a family according to seniority (so
that the younger members had to possess their souls in patience till the
elder ones were disposed of); the paying of an equivalent for the
bride's services to her father in money or kind; and festivities often
lasting over several days to celebrate the nuptials. The Rabbins
acquaint us with the fact that seven days' feasting was an indispensable
obligation on all married men, and that the bride was not consigned to
her husband until after the days of feasting had expired. They were
generally spent in the house of the woman's father, after which she was
conducted in great state to her husband's home. When the bride was a
widow, the festivities only lasted for three days. Customs in the East
are perpetuated from one generation to another, and we now find among
the inhabitants of the Orient the same mode of life as was adopted by
the patriarchs of old. The description of the wooing of Isaac and
Rebekah, for example, so graphically told in Genesis, differs in few
respects from that of a young couple of the same rank in the present
day. Handsome presents, consisting of jewels, apparel, &c., are
presented to the woman and her family, and form part of her dower in
case of divorce. Rich shawls, fine dresses, personal ornaments, money,
and a complete outfit of domestic utensils are always included in such a
gift. Among some of the Arab tribes the dower received on such
occasions, and called the "five articles," consists of a carpet, a
silver nose ring, a silver neck chain, silver bracelets, and a camel
bag. Matrimonial overtures are generally made by the parents of the
contracting parties in Persia, but after all has been concluded, the
bride-elect has nominally the power, though it is seldom exercised, of
expressing her dissent before the connection receives its final
sanction. Among many Bedouin tribes the woman is not suffered to know
until the betrothing ceremonies announce it to her who is to be her
husband, and then it is too late to negative the contract, but she is
permitted to withdraw from her husband's tent the day after her
marriage, and to return to her father; in which case she is formally
divorced, and is henceforward regarded as a widow. On the value of her
ornaments the Eastern bride bases her claim to consideration; and though
the Arab, as a rule, cares little for his own dress, he decks his wife
as richly as possible, that honour may be reflected upon himself and his
circumstances. The leg ornaments and bracelets are often enormously
thick, and have no fastenings, but open and compress by their own
elasticity. It is not unusual to wear several on the same arm, reaching
to the elbow. They form a woman's sole wealth, and are not treasured up
for special occasions, as is usual among Western nations, but are used
as part of of the daily costume. Various materials are employed in their
manufacture; gold is necessarily rare, silver less so, while others are
composed of amber, coral, mother-of-pearl, and beads.
[Illustration: ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BRIDAL COSTUME.]
[Illustration: FESTIVITIES AT AN EASTERN MARRIAGE.]
We are told, when Rebekah approached her future home and saw a man
walking in the distance, she evinced a curiosity, natural under the
circumstances, and inquired about him; and on discovering that it was
Isaac, "she took a veil and covered herself." It is still almost
universal in the East for a woman, whose face is not concealed on other
occasions, to envelop her head and body in an ample veil before she is
conducted to her husband, and it is considered an indispensable part of
the bridal costume. The details of the home coming are modified by the
local usages and religions of the different countries. In Syria, Persia,
and India, the bridegroom, in person, brings home the bride; in some
other countries this duty devolves on a near relative, and he remains at
home to receive the lady on her arrival. From various sources, but
particularly from indications in Scripture, we may gather that the Jews
employed either of these methods, according to circumstances. Again, in
Egypt the bridegroom goes to the Mosque when his bride is expected, and
returns home in procession after she has arrived. In Western Asia the
procession usually walks, if the bride's future house is at no great
distance in the same town. In such cases she is often partially covered
by a canopy, and in Central and Eastern Asia it is the rule for her to
be mounted on a mare, mule, ass, or camel, unless she is carried in a
palanquin. Much, of course, depends on the social position of those
married. Music attends such processions, and often dancing; the Jews
certainly had the former, and some think the latter also, at least, in
the time of our Saviour.
[Illustration: A GREEK BRIDESMAID.]
In Halhed's translation of the Gentoo Laws, and in Mr. Roberts's
"Oriental Illustrations," reference is made to the custom of marrying
the elder sister first, and the same usage is observed with regard to
the brothers. When, in India, the elder daughter happens to be blind,
deaf, dumb, or deformed, this formality is dispensed with; and there
have been cases when a man, wishing to obtain a younger daughter, has
used every means in his power to promote the settlement of his future
sister-in-law, so as to forward his own nuptials. Fathers, too, will
sometimes exert their powers to compass the marriage of the elder
daughter, when a very advantageous offer is made for the younger one.
It is generally believed that Psalm xlv., commonly known as "The Song of
Loves," was composed on the occasion of Solomon's marriage--probably to
Pharaoh's daughter; and here we find the Egyptian bride's dress
described as "all glorious within and wrought of gold, a raiment of
needlework." Both expressions refer to the same dress, and imply that
the garment was embroidered with figures worked with threads of gold.
The Egyptians were famous for their embroideries, and some mummies have
been found wrapped up in clothing curiously ornamented with gold lace.
At the present day, both in Egypt and Western Asia, it is usual for
ladies of the highest rank to employ much of their time in working with
the needle linen and cotton tissues in gold and silver thread and silk
of different colours.
[Illustration: MODERN GREEK BRIDAL COSTUME.]
The use of nuptial crowns is of great antiquity. Among the Greeks and
Romans they wore chaplets of flowers and leaves, and the modern Greeks
retain this custom, employing such chaplets, decorated with ribbons and
lace. Modern Jews do not use crowns in their marriage ceremonies, and
they inform us that they have been discontinued since the last siege of
Jerusalem by the Romans. The information which Gemara gives on this
subject is briefly that the crown of the bridegroom was of gold and
silver, or else a chaplet of roses, myrtle, or olives, and that the
bride's crown was of the precious metals. There is also some mention of
a crown made of salt and sulphur, worn by the bridegroom, the salt
transparent as crystal, the figures being represented thereon in
sulphur. Crowns play an important part in the nuptial ceremonies of the
Greek Church; they are also still used by Scandinavian brides.
The ring in former days did not occupy the prominent position it does
now, but was given, with other presents, to mark the completion of the
contract. Its form is a symbol of eternity, and signifies the intention
of both parties to keep the solemn covenant of which it is a pledge, or,
as the Saxons called it, a "wed," from which we derive the term wedding.
The Jews have a law which proclaims that the nuptial ring shall be of
certain value, and must not be obtained by credit or gift. Formerly they
were of large size and elaborate workmanship, but now the ordinary plain
gold hoop is used.
[Illustration: A, JEWISH WEDDING RING, GERMAN, 17TH CENTURY; B, MODERN
ITALIAN; C, ITALIAN, 14TH CENTURY; D, VENETIAN, 16TH CENTURY; E,
ENGLISH, 1706; F, ENGLISH BRONZE BETROTHAL RING, 17TH CENTURY.]
A wedding ring of the Shakespearian era has a portrait of Lucretia
holding the dagger, the reverse side of the circle being formed by two
clasped hands. This is a very common shape, and is shown in the
illustration of the English wedding-ring E, dated 1706, where white
enamel fingers support a rose diamond. The modern Italian peasant
wedding-ring B is of gold in raised bosses, while C is of silver; F,
bearing initials on vezet, is of bronze. A is a handsome Jewish
wedding-ring, bearing the ark, and D also has a Hebrew inscription.
The gimmal betrothal ring was formerly a favourite pattern, and
consisted of three circlets attached to a spring or pivot, and could be
closed so as to appear like one solid ring. It was customary to break
these asunder at the betrothal, the man and woman taking the upper and
lower ones, and the witness the intermediate ring. When the marriage
took place these were joined together and used at the ceremony. During
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it was a common practice to
engrave these emblems of affection with some appropriate motto. It was
from Pagan Rome that European nations derive the wedding-ring, as they
were used in their betrothals long before there is any trace of them
elsewhere.
[Illustration: AN EASTERN BRIDE.]
In describing the bridal costumes of different nations, it should be
distinctly borne in mind that a large majority of the upper classes wear
on such occasions the traditional white satin and orange blossoms with
which we are all familiar. Many, however, prefer the picturesque
national costume associated with the land of their birth, and it has
been my principal object, in selecting the illustrations, to make them
as typical as possible.
[Illustration: GARMENT FORMERLY WORN BY GREEK BRIDES.
(_From South Kensington Museum_)]
The Greek marriage service is full of symbol, and the sketch gives a
good idea of the bridal costume. The bridesmaid is attired in a gold
embroidered jacket, a skirt of brilliant colouring, and the crimson
fez--the usual head-gear of a Greek maiden. She is depicted scattering
corn, an ancient rite always performed at the conclusion of the
ceremony. As she gracefully sways backwards and forwards, to the
accompaniment of the jingling coins, which do double service as dowry
and trimming, it is a pose and dress at once graceful and free. Formerly
a wedding garment was often passed down from mother to daughter, and
such an example is given in the soft yellow silk robe, lined with white
and enriched with elaborate embroidery. Tiny stars in delicate shades of
red, blue, and green, divided by black lines form the design and
proclaim the industry and skill of the worker. These robes, however,
have not been used in Greece since the beginning of the seventeenth
century.
In Japan, the beautiful land of the lily and chrysanthemum, the bride
usually takes little more to her husband's home than her trousseau,
which is ample enough, as a rule, to satisfy even a woman's passion for
dress. The nuptials take place in the evening, and the bride is garbed
in virgin white robes, figured with a lozenge design. These garments are
the gift of the bridegroom, and in them she passes from the home of her
girlhood to that of her husband. The household gods of both families are
assembled before an altar decked with flowers and covered with
offerings. Near stands a large table, with a dwarf cedar; it also holds
the Japanese Adam and Eve, and the mystic turtle and stork. The two
special attendants of bride and bridegroom are called butterflies, and
in their dress and colouring rival these beautiful insects, which in
this country are the symbol of conjugal felicity. The most solemn part
of the marriage ceremony is the scene of the two-mouthed vase. At a
signal, one butterfly fills the vase, and the other offers it to the
kneeling couple, the husband drinking first, and afterwards the wife.
This draught signifies that henceforward they are to partake equally of
the bitters and sweets of the coming years. Rice is thrown from either
side, so as to mingle, and the wicks of two candles are placed together,
to symbolize the joining of body and soul.
The marriage processions of other Oriental nations have already been
referred to, and in India it is customary to perform the ceremony under
a species of canopy richly ornamented and lighted by lamps. The bride
wears, in addition to the native costume, a curious veil composed of
strings of gold beads and tassels. In Hindu marriages the sacred fire or
_oman_ (which is constantly renewed by throwing upon it scented oils,
sandalwood, incense, and other aromatic perfumes) is a prominent
feature, and the union of a couple is consecrated by sprinkling a
handful of saffron, mixed with rice flour, on their shoulders. Finally,
the husband presents his wife with a little golden image called _talee_,
a substitute for the wedding ring, and worn by Indian women as their
symbol of matrimony.
A missionary thus describes a Buddhist marriage:--"The bride, loaded
with jewellery, accompanied by women richly attired, entered the room,
and sat down with the bridegroom on the floor. A number of candles were
then lighted, and the company saluted and congratulated the happy
couple, and expressed their kind wishes by blowing smoke towards them,
while a band of string instruments discoursed sweet music. Two cushions
were placed before the bridegroom, on which a sword was laid, and food
was also near them. Next the hands of each were bound together, then the
two to each other with silken threads. This act was performed by the
nearest relative present, and completed the ceremony." Brief, indeed,
are the forms of marriage indulged in by the people of Borneo. Each of
the contracting parties chews a betel nut; an elderly woman mutters some
sort of incantation, and brings the heads of bride and bridegroom in
close contact, after which they are declared man and wife, and are no
longer regarded as twain, but one flesh. The Cherokee form of marriage
is perhaps the most simple. The two join hands over a running stream,
emblematic of the wish that their future lives, hopes, and aspirations,
should flow on in the same channel. A peculiar custom of the Lascars is
the putting of a ring on the great toe when they marry. Mrs. Bishop, who
has explored Tibet and studied the habits and customs of the people,
informs us that polyandry is favoured by the women of that country. The
heir of the land and eldest son appears to be the only member of the
family who can contract a marriage in the legal sense as we understand
it, but all his brothers are accepted by the wife as inferior or
subordinate husbands. By this means they are kept well under the control
of the superior husband, whom they regard as the "Big Father," and, as a
matter of form, any children who may be born are accepted by him.
[Illustration: HINDU BRIDEGROOM'S PROCESSION.]
Thus the whole family are attached to the soil, and seem to work in
concord, and the women have the satisfaction of knowing that in the
average course of Nature they can never become widows, and that there
will always be someone to work for them and their offspring. "It is the
custom for the men and women of a village to assemble when a bride
enters her home with her husbands, and for each of them to present her
with three rupees. The Tibetan wife, far from spending these gifts on
personal adornment, looks ahead, contemplating possible contingencies,
and immediately hires a field, the produce of which is her own, and
accumulates from year to year, so that she may not be portionless should
she desire a divorce."
The African tribes, of course, differ materially in their marriage
customs, but some form of exchange for the services of the woman are
insisted on, and often take the shape of a present of cattle to the
bride's father. On the West Coast, in the neighbourhood of Gaboon,
where slavedom is recognised, there is an understanding that a wife may
be purchased for a slave bundle, valued at about L6 in English money,
and there appears to be no sliding scale as to youth, beauty, form, or
degree. A bundle contains specimens of every article sold by a general
storekeeper. The most important features of a slave bundle are a
Neptune, or brass pan used for making salt, which is a current article
of commerce, and a piece of native cloth, manufactured by these people
for dress purposes, from a species of palm which grows on the river
banks in great luxuriance. Both sexes anoint themselves with palm oil
and other greasy substances, and no greater compliment can be paid to an
African belle than to say she looks "fat and shining."
[Illustration: VEIL OF HINDU BRIDE.]
[Illustration: HINDU MARRIAGE CEREMONY.]
Mr. Hutchinson, in his interesting work, "Ten Years in AEthiopia," gives
a quaint and amusing account of the toilet of a Fernandian bridegroom:
"Outside a small hut, belonging to the mother of the bride expectant, I
soon discovered the happy bridegroom undergoing his toilet at the hands
of his future wife's sister. A profusion of Tshibbu strings being
fastened round his body, as well as his legs and arms, the anointing
lady, having a short black pipe in her mouth, proceeded to rub him over
with Tola pomade. He seemed not altogether joyous at the anticipation of
his approaching happiness, but turned a sulky gaze now and then on a
piece of yam which he held in his hand, and which had a parrot's red
feather fixed on its convex side. This was called 'Ntshoba,' and is
regarded as a protection against evil influences on the important day.
The bride was borne down by the weight of rings and wreaths and girdles
of Tshibbu. Tola pomatum gave her the appearance of an exhumed mummy,
save her face, which was all white; not from excess of modesty, for the
negro race are reported to blush blue, but from being smeared over with
a white paste, the emblem of purity." What a hideous substitute for the
classical wreath of orange blossoms, and what a contrast must be offered
when the cosmetic peels off and displays the dusky skin upon which it is
laid!
According to Russian law, no man can marry before he is eighteen years
of age, or a woman before she is sixteen; nor after he is eighty, and
she is sixty. Priests are permitted to marry once. Secret marriages
without witnesses are regarded as invalid, and both bride and bridegroom
must be baptized persons. If a Russian takes a foreigner for a wife, she
must bind herself in writing to bring up any children she may have in
the Greco-Russian faith. According to an ancient custom the bridegroom
presents his bride with the costume and jewellery worn at the marriage.
The dowry comes from her family, and consists of a complete wardrobe,
silver, linen, and household furniture of all kinds. The hair of an
unmarried woman of the peasant class in Russia is dressed in a single
plait hanging loose upon the shoulders, and tied with ribbon. After
marriage it is arranged in two braids coiled round the head, covered
with a cap tied behind, or with a cotton or silk handkerchief and a
little lappet of linen rests on the forehead, and is considered an
inevitable symbol of marriage. Marriages are performed after banns, and
much of the finery used by the lower classes is hired for the occasion;
and the crowns used in the Russian ceremony are generally the property
of the Church. Formerly they were worn for a week, but this practice has
been discontinued.
[Illustration: A RUSSIAN BRIDE.]
[Illustration: NORWEGIAN PEASANT BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM.]
There are three distinct periods in the life of a Norwegian woman, and
each one has marked characteristics, particularly as regards dress.
During girlhood, up to the time of confirmation, a solemn occasion for
which there is much preparatory training, girls do not usually go from
home to work, or earn their own living. Among the poorer classes this
ceremony takes place when they are about fifteen. Their petticoats are
short and their hair is arranged in two long plaits. After confirmation
they are supposed to regard life from its more serious aspect, and to
engage themselves with various duties, according to their station. The
third stage, of course, is married life, and it should be stated that
neither men nor women can enter upon the holy contract unless they can
bring proof of their confirmation, and can show ample evidence of
sufficient means to provide for a household. The marriage is preceded by
a betrothal ceremony, when the young couple go to the church,
accompanied by their friends, and exchange rings of plain gold and
presents of jewellery and apparel, which must be worn on the wedding
day. At her marriage the peasant bride wears the crown. It has a rim of
brass to fit the head, and the upper portion is of silver and gold,
sometimes embellished with precious stones. Such crowns are generally
heirlooms, and it is not uncommon for all the brides of one family for
centuries to wear the same adornment for the head. A very usual dress on
such an occasion is a plain skirt of some woollen material, with a
bodice and full sleeves of snowy linen, a corselet of red and green,
ornamented with bands and buckles, and a white apron trimmed with
embroidery. A silver-gilt breast ornament is worn by Swedish brides. The
band is wrought with bosses, and depending from it are small beaten
discs, and a medallion bearing the sacred initials I.H.S. The
bridegroom's hat in the illustration was probably an heirloom too, from
its shape and fashion. He wears a red waistcoat cut short and fastened
with brass buttons, and a loose cloth coat ornamented with embroidered
revers. The black small clothes show to advantage a well-shaped leg, and
on the feet are low shoes. Usually the festivities in connection with a
peasant wedding in Norway are kept up for three days, and during the
time there is much feasting and merrymaking among the friends of bride
and bridegroom.
[Illustration: ORNAMENT WORN BY SWEDISH PEASANT BRIDE.]
[Illustration: A BRIDEGROOM'S TOILET AT FERNANDO PO.]
Gipsies are, as a rule, married at a very early age. A girl is generally
betrothed at fourteen, and becomes a wife two years later. The marriage
ceremony is performed by a priest wearing a ram's horn as a sign of
office, and, as becomes a nomadic race, the four elements--fire, air,
earth, and water--take a prominent position. The horn is the symbol of
authority, and is often made use of in Scripture. So much were rams'
horns esteemed by the Israelites that their priests and Levites used
them as trumpets in the taking of Jericho; and modern Jews when they
confess their sins announce the ceremony by blowing a ram's horn. In
ancient Egypt and other parts of Africa, Jupiter Ammon was worshipped
under the figure of a ram, and to this deity one of these animals was
sacrificed annually. It seems to have been an emblem of power from the
remotest ages. It would therefore appear that the practice of the gipsy
priest wearing a ram's horn suspended from a string round his neck at a
marriage is derived from the highest antiquity, and undoubtedly points
to the Oriental origin of the gipsy race.
Various expedients have been resorted to by different rulers of sparsely
populated kingdoms to encourage men to enter the married state. In
ancient Rome the law forbade that a bachelor should inherit any legacy
whatever, and in Sparta, under the rule of Lycurgus, they were not
permitted to have a part in the government, nor might they occupy any
civil or military post. They were excluded from participation in public
festivals, except on certain fixed occasions, and then the women had the
right to lead them to the altars, where they were beaten with rods to
the sound of scornful songs. As late as the reign of William and Mary,
widowers were taxed in England at the following rates:--Dukes, L12 10s.;
lower peers a smaller sum, and commoners one shilling each, if they
elected to remain in a state of single blessedness. Widows also,
especially those of high degree and fortune, were encouraged to dip
again in the matrimonial lottery, and children were betrothed at a very
tender age.
[Illustration: AN ENGLISH BRIDE.]
Bridesmaids in Anglo-Saxon times attended on the bride, and performed
specified duties, particularly in the festivities which usually followed
on such occasions. Even during the earlier portion of the present
century it was a common custom for one to accompany the bridal couple on
their honeymoon; and it was also her duty to prepare and present the
"benediction posset," which is referred to by Herrick in "Hesperides:"--
"A short sweet prayer shall be said,
And now the posset shall be made
With cream of lilies not of kine
And maiden blush for spiced wine."
The fashion of brides wearing spotless white is a comparatively modern
one. From accounts of bridal gowns in bygone times, we find rich
brocades, golden tissues, and coloured silks were employed for this
purpose; and at the present day white is considered only appropriate to
the virgin, and is absolutely dispensed with by those women who have
been married before.
Of modern marriage customs in England there is no occasion to speak, for
what woman is there among us who has not made an exhaustive and complete
study of this vital matter? It may, however, comfort those who are
beginning to wonder if marriage and giving in marriage is going out of
fashion, to know that during the first quarter of 1894, 95,366 persons
were joined together in the British Islands, an increase of 18 per cent.
over the first three months of the previous year, 1893 and 9 per cent.
over the mean rate for the same quarter for the preceding ten years.
Figures are incontrovertible facts, so our ears need no longer be
assailed by the bitter cry of
"DARKEST SPINSTERDOM."